Thirteen Russian I and II students, led by MSMS Russian teacher Ms. Henry, competed at the Russian Olympiada and brought back an array of medals. The competition took place on Tuesday, March 26, at Rhodes College in Memphis.

What is officially known as the Olympiada of Spoken Russian is an annual event sponsored by the American Council of Teachers of Russian (ACTR). MSMS belongs to the Tennessee-Mississippi division and holds the distinction of being the only high school in Mississippi that offers Russian.

This year six Russian II students and seven Russian I students traveled to Rhodes and were judged on a series of oral tests, with careful attention placed on correct pronunciation, poise, understanding, and a demonstrated passion for the Russian language. Students are tested on a variety of texts, including cultural excerpts, famous poems, scenarios, and day to day dialogue, with difficulty level depending upon whether the student is competing as a first year or a second year. Scores were ranked on a four-tier range: 90-100 (gold), 80-89 (silver), 70-79 (bronze), and 60-69 (honorable mention).

Of those students, Powers Lamb, Edith Marie Green, Danail Dimitrov, Tommy Evans, Cassian Shanahan, and Austin Williams received perfect scores and gold medals. Garrett Wells, Austin Eubank, Devin Chen, Christian Couvillion, Emmie Rollen, and Michelle Luo received gold medals. Leo Kinney received a silver medal.

“MSMS had an outstanding showing, taking home 12 gold medals (many of which were perfect scores of 100) and one silver medal, as well as being recognized as the most decorated school. An overall incredible job by everyone, particularly Ms. Henry, who thoroughly prepared us for this competition. Молодцы (Well done),” said Devin Chen.

Edith Marie Green said that she felt her class grew closer over the experience. “It was my second year doing Olympiada, and I was very encouraged at how well everyone performed. We also had a fun time visiting Rhodes and being stressed about Russian together,” Green expressed.

Michelle Luo believed that her experience helped reinforce her knowledge of the language, saying, “It was cool to see how much Russian I really knew by speaking to advanced speakers.”

Cas Shanahan also enjoyed participating in Olympiada.“It was really fun to be able to talk to native Russian speakers and actually have a conversation. Speaking Russian in class is fun but Olympiada made it feel more real. It made all the practicing, practice sessions, and waking up early worth it.”

Students returned tired, but also with a greater grasp of the Russian language and, for all of them, another award under their belts.